Two undefeated teams faced off in the final of the U21 World Championship. Denmark came in as favorites and managed to deliver, defeating Portugal 29–26 to claim the title.
Denmark came out strong from the start. Goalkeeper Tobias Møller started off outstanding with six early saves. At the same time Denmark’s offense found scoring from all over the in the first half. Portugal looked nervous in the early stages, and with the score at 12–6 after 24 minutes, head coach Carlos Martingo called his second timeout.
Martingo managed to inject some energy into his team, who finished the first half strong. With more composure in the offense, Portugal closed the gap to four goals – 14–10 at halftime. Despite the strong finish to the half, they faced a difficult task in the final 30 minutes.
Portugal started the second half the better of the two teams and cut the deficit to 16–14. Just as a comeback seemed possible, Møller stepped up again. The Danish goalkeeper had a save rate of around 45% with 15 minutes remaining and made several one-on-one saves.
Portugal continued to fight but never got closer than two goals, largely due to Møller’s consistent heroics. With 30 seconds left on the clock, Fredrik Pedersen sealed the win by scoring the final goal to make it 29–26.
Denmark finished the tournament with eight wins from eight matches and secured their first U21 World Championship title in 20 years. It was the fourth time in history that the country claimed the gold at this level.